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Baldwin County officials worried about icy road conditions

Perone Branch bridge.jpg

Vehicles travel across a Baldwin County bridge that has been coated with sand in anticipation of the freezing rain, sleet and snow that have been forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday. (Thyrie Bland | tbland@al.com)

ROBERTSDALE, Alabama -- Weather conditions in Baldwin County are expected to deteriorate Tuesday, with freezing rain, sleet and snow spreading across much of the county.

Baldwin County is included in a winter storm warning that is in effect until 6 a.m. Wednesday from southeast Mississippi to the western Florida Panhandle.

There already have been reports of freezing rain in the county north of Interstate 65, said Mitchell Sims, director of the Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency.

A mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow is expected to spread throughout the rest of the county between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sims said.

There could be ice accumulations up to half an inch in some areas of the county, he said.

"With that is going to come the typical power outages, the frozen bridges and overpasses and dangerous travel," Sims said.

The forecast from the National Weather Service for Tuesday and Wednesday calls for a wintry mix with highs in the 30s and lows in the 20s.

County officials are asking people to stay home because of the icy road conditions that are expected to develop as a result of the weather.

The Baldwin County Highway Department has put sand on county bridges in anticipation of the ice that is forecast to form on elevated roadways.

"If you are going 50 miles per hour and hit a patch of ice, there is no telling what can happen with a vehicle," Baldwin County Commission Chairman Skip Gruber said.

The commission had an emergency meeting Tuesday morning at the Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency in Robertsdale to discuss the weather.

The commission decided to give county workers, except for essential personnel, the day off Wednesday. Workers also are off Tuesday.

Driving conditions still could be bad Wednesday, Sims said.

"I have heard conflicting reports we will have some sun, and that we will also have clouds," he said. "If we have some sun that will start thawing portions of the county that get above freeing. If we have the clouds, then we may not thaw any of it."

Sims said driving conditions on Thursday should be better, but there still could be some dangerous icy spots on roadways.

"We will still have some impacts that we will have to be careful of," he said. "I believe that we will be able to start returning to business on Thursday."